Scenes from the last Card Show of 2018

There was an oversaturation of card shows in the Twin Cities, this month - with shows on each of the first three weekends. I planned ahead for this craziness, and I went to just one show. My birthday is in December, so I had some extra cash to spend. Even though I only went to one show, I've split the trip into three parts. This is the odds and ends entry!

Joe Mauer is featured here in a card from 2002, printed up not long after his rookie league season had ended. The front has a picture from his high school days with Saint Paul's Cretin-Durham Hall Raiders - where he was the #1 ranked player in both Baseball and Football. He passed on a scholarship to play Quarterback for Bobby Bowden at Florida State so he could catch for his hometown team. The $5.15 Million dollar signing bonus from the Twins helped too. The back calmly explains that Mauer is probably going to be one of the best players in baseball for the next decade plus. The back was not wrong.

I revealed to one of the vendors that I was looking for cards with players on the phone. He gave this card to me for a quarter - close enough! Bud Grant was a unique multi-sport star as well. A three-sport star at the University of MN, he was on the 1950 NBA Champion Minneapolis Lakers team as a reserve, but he also played Defensive End and Wide Receiver for the Eagles. Unhappy with his NFL salary, Grant moved on to the Winnepeg Blue Bombers of the CFL, where he led the league in Receptions three times and receiving yards twice. He also set a CFL record by intercepting 5 passes in a playoff game. He went into coaching later on of course, first in the CFL winning 4 Grey Cup titles. He returned to the NFL, leading the Vikings to all four Super Bowl appearances in the team's history.

Speaking of Vikings greats, this was the only other card I picked up at the show more recent than the 1980s. Cris Carter was a tremendous talent at WR for the Vikings. He was an 8x Pro Bowl selection, and finished his career with over 1,100 Receptions, 13,000 yards, and 130 Touchdowns. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in his home state of Ohio in 2013

Speaking of Hall of Famers, here's College Football Hall of Famer Jim Plunkett. He was the 1970 Heisman Trophy winner, beating out Archie Manning and Joe Theismann for the honor. Drafted #1 overall by the Boston Patriots, the longtime Patriot and Raider was a 2-time Super Bowl Champion, including an MVP winning performance in Super Bowl XV.

What the heck are these? The vendor I purchased them from said he was "pretty sure" they were 1971 Bazooka cards, hand cut from a cardboard box. they have plain brown blank backs.

Say Hey! Not a bad pick up for less than $10 for the pair. Next up, I'll share the 60s and 70s vintage I found at the show.